SWABI: Traders here have been exploiting the situation after rupee devaluation and the recent hike in petroleum prices by significantly increasing prices of the commodities.

Interaction with consumers at local markets revealed that the retailers had got an opportunity to put more financial burden on them.

This scribe saw a customer questioning a cloth trader in Topi tehsil main bazaar that he had bought a shalwar kameez suit at Rs1,100 in July, but now he was demanding Rs1,600 for the suit of same quality.

On this, the trader said that price of the cloth had go up due to devaluation of Pakistani rupee. Similarly, a bottle of hair oil was available at one shop for Rs210, while another retailer had fixed a price tag of Rs285 on the same product.

A badminton player, Hazir Zaman, said that the price of plastic shuttlecock had gone up from Rs100 to Rs120 a piece. The price of 16-kilogramme cooking oil has jumped from Rs2,500 to Rs2,850. The prices of fruit, vegetables have also witnessed a sharp increase. Nural Amin of Faqirabad said that it was responsibility of the government to check prices and fine those overcharging consumers.

MAN DEPRIVED OF CASH: Unidentified robbers snatched over Rs1 million from an owner of a filling station in Chota Lahor tehsil here on Friday, police said.

Registering an FIR in Chota Lahor police station, the victim, Gohar Khan, said that he was going in his car to deposit the money in bank when robbers in a car came near him near Zakaria canal and threatened to kill him if he resisted to hand them over the money.

Mr Khan said that when he speeded up the car and tried to escape the robbers opened fire on him. They succeeded to overpower him and snatched Rs1 million from him.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2018